Guide · College Scorecard data
How to Compare Colleges with Data
Beyond rankings - the metrics that actually predict whether a school is right for you.
The short answer
A fair college comparison weighs four things the brochures bury: net price by income, graduation rate, field-level earnings, and debt, not selectivity or prestige. Two schools with the same sticker price can deliver very different returns.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
By the numbers
What the federal data shows
- 6,243
- Colleges tracked
- 2,298
- Programs with earnings
- $43,830
- Avg 10-yr earnings
Highest-earning bachelor's fields by median earnings
Bachelor's-level fields with 5,000+ graduates, by average of per-school median earnings, College Scorecard
- Computer Engineering
Computer Engineering
$104,759 avg earnings
- Computer Science
Computer Science
$100,330 avg earnings
- Electrical, Electronics,…
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering
$96,621 avg earnings
- Chemical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
$96,104 avg earnings
- Aerospace, Aeronautical,…
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering
$96,102 avg earnings
- Industrial Engineering
Industrial Engineering
$95,157 avg earnings
- Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
$90,729 avg earnings
- Biomedical/Medical Engin…
Biomedical/Medical Engineering
$89,905 avg earnings
By the data
Why graduation rate belongs on your list
Four-year graduation rates span the entire range across US colleges, from under 20% to over 80%. A degree you do not finish is debt without the payoff, so a school's completion rate is as important as its price or its earnings.
US colleges by 4-year graduation rate
Number of colleges in each completion-rate band, College Scorecard
- 0–20% 109
0–20%
109 colleges
- 20–40%
20–40%
484 colleges
- 40–60%
40–60%
789 colleges
- 60–80%
60–80%
569 colleges
- 80–100% 198
80–100%
198 colleges
What this shows Most US colleges cluster in the middle bands - very few schools post graduation rates above 80%, so a rate in the 40-60% range is closer to typical than it might feel.
Key Takeaway
Four metrics matter most when comparing colleges: graduation rate (will you finish?), net price (what will it actually cost?), median earnings (what will you earn?), and median debt (what will you owe?). Traditional rankings don't emphasize these. PlainCollege shows all four for every school.
The Four Metrics That Matter
Forget prestige rankings. These four data points from the College Scorecard predict real-world outcomes better than any magazine list:
- Graduation rate: What percentage of students actually complete their degree? This is the most undervalued metric. If 60% of students don't finish, the "experience" isn't worth the investment for most enrollees.
- Net price by income: What will you actually pay after financial aid? The Scorecard breaks this down by family income bracket. Check your bracket, the advertised price is irrelevant.
- Median earnings: What do graduates earn 10 years after enrollment? This is real IRS data, not self-reported surveys. Compare within the same field of study for a fair assessment.
- Median debt at graduation: How much do graduates owe? Combined with earnings, this tells you how long it will take to pay off your investment.
PlainCollege shows all four metrics on every school page. Use the comparison tool to evaluate schools side by side.
Step 1: Start with Graduation Rate
Before comparing anything else, check whether students actually complete their degrees at this school. The national 6-year graduation rate for bachelor's programs is approximately 63%. Schools significantly below this, especially for-profit institutions and open-admission colleges, pose a higher risk of non-completion.
Look at both the 4-year and 6-year rates. A school where most graduates finish in 4 years saves you a year of tuition and a year of forgone earnings compared to one where the majority take 6 years.
Step 2: Compare Net Price, Not Sticker Price
Every school's sticker price is a fiction, it's the starting point for a negotiation, not what most students pay. The College Scorecard publishes average net price (tuition + fees + room/board - grants) broken down by family income:
- $0–$30,000 family income
- $30,001–$48,000
- $48,001–$75,000
- $75,001–$110,000
- $110,001+
A $75,000/year university that meets 100% of demonstrated financial need may cost less than a $15,000/year state school that offers minimal aid. Always compare at your income level.
Step 3: Evaluate Earnings by Program
Institution-level earnings averages are misleading because they blend all programs together. An engineering school and a liberal arts college will show very different institution-level earnings, but comparing their English programs might reveal similar outcomes.
PlainCollege shows program-level earnings where available. Compare the specific program you plan to study, not the school's overall number.
Step 4: Check the Debt Ratio
Calculate the debt-to-first-year-earnings ratio: if median debt is $30,000 and median first-year earnings are $40,000, the ratio is 0.75, manageable. If median debt is $80,000 and first-year earnings are $35,000, the ratio is 2.3, a serious financial burden.
As a rule of thumb: keep total student debt below your expected first-year salary. A debt ratio above 1.5 makes loan repayment a significant drag on post-college finances for years.
Worked example: applying all four steps
Say you're deciding between School X and School Y for a business degree. School X has an 80% graduation rate, $22,000 net price, $52,000 median 10-year earnings in business, and $28,000 median debt against $38,000 first-year earnings (ratio 0.74). School Y has a 55% graduation rate, $19,000 net price, $47,000 median earnings, and $41,000 median debt against $34,000 first-year earnings (ratio 1.2). School Y looks cheaper on net price alone, but its lower graduation rate means fewer students actually reach that earnings number, and its debt ratio is meaningfully worse. Running all four steps together, not net price in isolation, points toward School X as the stronger bet for most applicants.
What Rankings Don't Tell You
Traditional college rankings emphasize inputs (test scores, acceptance rates, faculty credentials) rather than outputs (what happens to students after enrollment). They often reward exclusivity, turning away applicants improves your ranking, rather than value creation.
Federal outcomes data flips this: it measures what actually happened to students who attended. A school that admits lower-performing students but graduates them into good careers is providing more value than a prestigious school with mediocre outcomes, even if the ranking says otherwise.
Check PlainCollege's alternatives finder to discover less-known schools that produce similar outcomes at lower cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are college rankings reliable?
Traditional rankings (US News, Forbes, etc.) use proprietary methodologies that weigh factors like reputation surveys, alumni donations, and acceptance rates, none of which directly measure educational quality or student outcomes. Federal data on earnings, graduation rates, and debt provides more objective measures. Rankings are a starting point, not a final answer.
What is net price and why does it matter?
Net price is the actual cost after subtracting grants and scholarships. It's what you actually pay out of pocket or borrow. A $60,000/year school that offers $40,000 in grants costs $20,000/year, less than a $25,000/year school with no aid. College Scorecard shows average net price by family income bracket for every school.
How important is graduation rate?
Very. A school's graduation rate is one of the strongest predictors of whether you'll complete your degree. Students who start but don't finish often carry debt without the earnings benefit. A 4-year graduation rate above 60% is above average. Below 30% is a significant risk factor, regardless of other metrics.
Should I compare public and private schools?
Yes, but compare net price, not sticker price. Public schools have lower sticker prices for in-state students, but private schools often provide more financial aid. After aid, the net cost may be similar. Compare the net price for your income bracket on PlainCollege to see the real cost difference.
What is the debt-to-earnings ratio?
The ratio of median student debt at graduation to median earnings in the first year after completion. A ratio above 1.0 means graduates owe more than they earn annually, a warning sign. The Department of Education uses a similar metric (debt-to-earnings rate) to evaluate program viability.
How do I factor in location?
Consider both the cost of attendance (including living expenses) and the post-graduation job market. Schools in high-cost areas may lead to higher nominal earnings, but if graduates stay in that area, the cost of living offsets the salary premium. Schools near strong job markets in your field provide better career entry points.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard
- NCES, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. College selection involves many personal factors beyond data.
How PlainCollege builds this comparison
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, more than 6,000 postsecondary institutions report earnings, cost, and completion data each year. PlainCollege pulls this dataset directly for every school profile, comparison, and ranking on the site, so the same debt-ratio and earnings figures used in this guide are the ones you'll see on each institution's own page. See our methodology for how the numbers are computed.
What this means for your comparison
- Magazine prestige rankings weight reputation and selectivity heavily; outcomes data (earnings, completion, debt) measures something different and often disagrees with them.
- A school-wide average can mask large differences between individual programs - check program-level data when it is available.
Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. This guide's comparison figures also draw on IPEDS institutional data. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2024-25.